Shuffle Master "Royal Match" machines now operating -- here are the actual rules!

[Jackski]

PA Royal Match 21 Machines

I understand that the Royal Match 21 machines reshuffle a 6 deck shoe electronically for EVERY player and one for the dealer. Evidently that is a PA stipulation to comply with their rules that no one's play can affect fellow bettors at the table.

My question is "Is this a RNG machine in the sense that nothing you do, ie.,Double Down, Split, Hit, Stand has any effect on winning or losing? Obviously Surrender is a loser but only half of the bet. That has to be an advantage to the player. Or, is the RNG's only impact on the initial two cards dealt to all participants, including the dealer? If that is true you would actually have a realistic chance of winning.

Anybody out there have the answer? Checked with Shufflemaster and PA Gaming Department and they didn't have a definitive answer on the website.

Send me a line at [email protected].

Thanks,

Jack

 

[KenSmith]

I think this has been discussed before, and the consensus view was that the Pennsylvania version of this game is fairly dealt from the independent shoes of each player and the dealer. That is, your decisions do impact the game as they normally would.

 

[Mr. T]

Can somebody explain to me why the casino would place a 0.5% HA BJ machine together with the 5% HA slot machine.

Where is the catch?

 

[Blue Efficacy]

Can somebody explain to me why the casino would place a 0.5% HA BJ machine together with the 5% HA slot machine.

Where is the catch?

Why would a casino offer a .5% HA BJ table game?

First, most people increase that house edge at least slightly, sometimes drastically.

Second, and more importantly, people love BJ, it brings people into the casinos. The low house edge is well known, and gets people in the door. This allows casinos to offer it with less overhead, such as paying dealers and pit critters, etc.

 

[merpmerp]

PA Shuffle Master

I have been going to the Mt. Airy Casino for a while because we stay in the Poconos on weekends in the summer. I was considering playing the virtual blackjack, but was hesitant because I thought it may be rigged.

For months, I watched other people playing the game. First off, let me tell you, there is no need for the casino or Shuffle Master to rig the machine. 90% of the people I have watched are clueless to basic strategy. I have never seen so much bad blackjack playing as I did here. Still, I was reluctant to play.

Finally, this summer, a friend of mine who is a big blackjack player stayed with us for a weekend and played the virtual blackjack at the casino. He was playing at the $25 table and won about $500. The next day we left to go home but he stopped at the casino again. This time he won about $2000. He said it was like Blackjack used to be in the casinos.

So, after his success, I finally decided to give it a shot. I put a $100 in a $10 table, won four hands in a row (one was a double down), cashed out my $50 and was done. The next weekend I decided to go a little longer and won $60. Every weekend that I go, I win. I have not lost yet. Starting with a $100, the most I have gone down to is $50. This past weekend I won $105 on Saturday and $65 on Sunday. Mind you, I'm only playing a half hour at the most. A few times I won $50 in about 5 minutes and then watched my wife play the slots. It's gotten to the point where if we weren't going to go to the casino before heading home I'll say to my wife "do you want me to stop in and get $20 for breakfast", sit down for a couple of minutes make my money and go. What's funny is the first time I did that I guess I didn't mention just winning $20 because I won it, said let's go, and my wife said I thought you wanted $50.

There are so many bad players there it's almost as if you are rewarded for doing the right thing. A lot of times I'll be playing alone and I have someone standing behind me watching. They see me winning and I guess that what makes them sit down. Then they play for a while and get up and leave. I try not to pay attention but sometimes can't help looking, especially if it's just the two of us. It kills me to see so many people afraid to hit 14's, 15's, etc against the 10 because they are afraid of busting and then the dealer beating them with 17 or something like that.

Also, there is no 5 card charlie. Where did that come from anyway? I've gone to Vegas my whole life, AC, Connecticut and never saw that anywhere.

 

[Deathangl13]

I have been going to the Mt. Airy Casino for a while because we stay in the Poconos on weekends in the summer. I was considering playing the virtual blackjack, but was hesitant because I thought it may be rigged.

For months, I watched other people playing the game. First off, let me tell you, there is no need for the casino or Shuffle Master to rig the machine. 90% of the people I have watched are clueless to basic strategy. I have never seen so much bad blackjack playing as I did here. Still, I was reluctant to play.

Finally, this summer, a friend of mine who is a big blackjack player stayed with us for a weekend and played the virtual blackjack at the casino. He was playing at the $25 table and won about $500. The next day we left to go home but he stopped at the casino again. This time he won about $2000. He said it was like Blackjack used to be in the casinos.

So, after his success, I finally decided to give it a shot. I put a $100 in a $10 table, won four hands in a row (one was a double down), cashed out my $50 and was done. The next weekend I decided to go a little longer and won $60. Every weekend that I go, I win. I have not lost yet. Starting with a $100, the most I have gone down to is $50. This past weekend I won $105 on Saturday and $65 on Sunday. Mind you, I'm only playing a half hour at the most. A few times I won $50 in about 5 minutes and then watched my wife play the slots. It's gotten to the point where if we weren't going to go to the casino before heading home I'll say to my wife "do you want me to stop in and get $20 for breakfast", sit down for a couple of minutes make my money and go. What's funny is the first time I did that I guess I didn't mention just winning $20 because I won it, said let's go, and my wife said I thought you wanted $50.

There are so many bad players there it's almost as if you are rewarded for doing the right thing. A lot of times I'll be playing alone and I have someone standing behind me watching. They see me winning and I guess that what makes them sit down. Then they play for a while and get up and leave. I try not to pay attention but sometimes can't help looking, especially if it's just the two of us. It kills me to see so many people afraid to hit 14's, 15's, etc against the 10 because they are afraid of busting and then the dealer beating them with 17 or something like that.

Also, there is no 5 card charlie. Where did that come from anyway? I've gone to Vegas my whole life, AC, Connecticut and never saw that anywhere.

Funny, this thread is over a year old, and I wasn't going to comment until I read yours...

Anyway, we just got these machines.... Who said that there are separate shoes for all players and dealer? Ours has late surrender, and it shuffles close to 70% pen (2/3), 6-decks. If that is true, then counting would have to be possible. Why even mention how many decks if there is a random generator like a slot machine? Anyway, if it's anything like the Basic Strategy Engine on this site, or the 888 casino flash blackjack game, I beat those every day....

 

[Mr. T]

Can somebody explain to me why the casino would place a 0.5% HA BJ machine together with the 5% HA slot machine.

Where is the catch?

Let me try and answer my own question. I think it is a slot machine. So forget about BS and the 0.50% HA. It is a reincarnation of the MindPlay BJ system. These RNG machines have been preset to more like 5% HA for BS players and automatically have a higher HA for non BS players. So the payout is similar to the ordinary slot machines.

The MindPlay system is so advance it could vary the odds for the players while in play. This goes up against the Nevada gaming rules that the odds cannot be changed during play. As I understand it the system was hence tested in Reno with a 5 card latency to comply with Nevada rules. I am sticking my neck out here. Perhaps these BJ slot machines could be preset with a fixed HA so BS is useless here.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Let me try and answer my own question. I think it is a slot machine. So forget about BS and the 0.50% HA. It is a reincarnation of the MindPlay BJ system. These RNG machines have been preset to more like 5% HA for BS players and automatically have a higher HA for non BS players. So the payout is similar to the ordinary slot machines.

The MindPlay system is so advance it could vary the odds for the players while in play. This goes up against the Nevada gaming rules that the odds cannot be changed during play. As I understand it the system was hence tested in Reno with a 5 card latency to comply with Nevada rules. I am sticking my neck out here. Perhaps these BJ slot machines could be preset with a fixed HA so BS is useless here.

It is not. The Shufflemaster BJ machine deals legit BJ. You can't count it efficiently because you don't know when it shuffles. They offer it because 1) it is extremely rare that a player plays BS and 2) they can get higher action out of players with it than they can with 5 and 25 cent slot machines.

 

[Machinist]

Okay here's my take

I have played a few million hands of Video BJ in my days... I have played the williams machines years ago... .3 edge off the top... 1deck shuffle everyhand...
No games with those they were on the up and up... I have also played the GameKing as much, Random , shuffle every hand.. they are legite , i have property to prove it.... LOL
Now i also have played a month or so on the old Machines we are talking about, and know of alot of people that used to beat these "type of machines" They are legite...
Now this one , the Royal Match, i have no experience with it, but as luck would have it , they are in the process of installing two of them in a nearby store for me....
The obvious key is knowing when it shuffles.. I see lots have made attempts at it...I will , i am sure i will spend a goodly amount of time eyeballing this machine...
Also they have these machines, that deal 1 hand and then shuffle from 1 deck......

WHAT i do know is if it shuffles after everyhand ... then all you need is a large percentage players card to beat the game....Very tough to find now.. most cards are a quarter percent or less.. Now if you find a promo of say 10 times points on a half percent card ..for a nice 5 percent card cash back, WILL YOU PLEASE PM me and i will take it from that point and let you know whether i can beat the game with a 5 percent edge..... LMAO
As far as the 2/3 pen 6 deck game i don't have a clue.....I will give it my best... They have been dicking around putting these machines in for 2 weeks...:whip:


Machinist

 

[shadroch]

It is not. The Shufflemaster BJ machine deals legit BJ. You can't count it efficiently because you don't know when it shuffles. They offer it because 1) it is extremely rare that a player plays BS and 2) they can get higher action out of players with it than they can with 5 and 25 cent slot machines.

I'm not so sure about that last part of your post. These machines deal slow.
With a few people, you get maybe 60 hands an hour. At $3 a bet, thats $180 an hour, maybe $220 if the player splits and DDs a lot. A three reel quarter slot player will get 250 or more pulls at 75cents a pull. A nickle video slots person with a typical 18 to 27 coins per spin will be right around the same amount cash thru, as well. A steaming slot player can get up to 600 spins an hour but I'm guessing 250 is much more the norm.

 

[Deathangl13]

You can't count it efficiently because you don't know when it shuffles.

I was talking to a tech the other night, and he said it shuffles when it changes dealers.... He is going to look into it and get back to me.... The part that seems weird is the separate shoes, that would mean you only count your own hands. Out of habit we'll prolly f*ck that up, lol...

 

[Nick_Escalantes]

Concerning the Shuffle Master "Royal Match" machine, I was playing a month ago and the 3rd base player bought insurance on a $20 bet. But instead of $10 going up on the screen when the old man hit the insurance button, $20 went up... $20 for a $20 bet, something is wrong here.

Everyone at the table looked at each other and shook there heads. It should have been 1/2 of his bet. So the technician was called over with security and the technician shook his head and said he has never seen anything like it. The casino employee said "Sir, we owe you $10..." since he lost. But I have to give the old guy credit since he let his last $75 ride and won.. saying "There, take that you machine.." And cashed out. LOL.

Also, it's interesting to watch the machine replay the hands prior, when the tech opened it up, so the evidence was there. Can anyone explain this senario? Computer glitch? Hmmm.

 

[Deathangl13]

Also, it's interesting to watch the machine replay the hands prior, when the tech opened it up, so the evidence was there. Can anyone explain this senario? Computer glitch? Hmmm.

As long as the casino made good on it, it's really not anything to be concerned about. Blackjack is an emotional game, and it is very easy to fall into all kinds of conspiracy theories when you're losing. Those machines have a $10 button, and a $1 button. It's possible the player hit the $10 instead of the $1, or the button could have been stuck down as he pressed it, throwing out more money. The hands being replayed, might be a security measure after a mistake so as not to disrupt the other players if they might have already been destined to win or lose that hand. I have to ask you though... what evidence was there? Evidence of what?

 

[Nick_Escalantes]

As long as the casino made good on it, it's really not anything to be concerned about. Blackjack is an emotional game, and it is very easy to fall into all kinds of conspiracy theories when you're losing. Those machines have a $10 button, and a $1 button. It's possible the player hit the $10 instead of the $1, or the button could have been stuck down as he pressed it, throwing out more money. The hands being replayed, might be a security measure after a mistake so as not to disrupt the other players if they might have already been destined to win or lose that hand. I have to ask you though... what evidence was there? Evidence of what?

The replay showed that the machine allowed a $20 insurance bet on a $20 bet, which is not allowed by the machine, only 1/2 of original bet. The fact that $20 registered on the insurance bet was what astonished everyone at the table. Even the tech couldn't explain it.

 

[Deathangl13]

The replay showed that the machine allowed a $20 insurance bet on a $20 bet, which is not allowed by the machine, only 1/2 of original bet. The fact that $20 registered on the insurance bet was what astonished everyone at the table. Even the tech couldn't explain it.

Got ya.... Some of the techs I talked to seemed oblivious to the functioning of the machine.... For example, why can't anyone confirm when it shuffles?

 

[Lonesome Gambler]

The replay showed that the machine allowed a $20 insurance bet on a $20 bet, which is not allowed by the machine, only 1/2 of original bet. The fact that $20 registered on the insurance bet was what astonished everyone at the table. Even the tech couldn't explain it.

Have you tried to reproduce this insurance bet? If you could get paid 2:1 on an insurance bet equal to your original wager, this game could be interesting...

 

[jmp123]

The machine definitely used to shuffle whenever a new dealer came up

I played on a cruise ship about 2 years ago. I wouldnt even put money in
and just wait til the count got to around 7. I was not keeping true count

Anyway I said to some young players at the table and said 10s are coming.
Next deal 4 out of five of us got 10s

So it used to work. As long as the software has not changed. It is worth a try but be aware that new software may be in a machine that you are counting on.

Since it goes to 2/3 of the shoe it should be easy to verify that the dealer changes by just counting 208 cards (2/3 of a 6 deck shoe)

I ended up winning about $100

 

[bigplayer]

Blackjack IGT Games

The machine definitely used to shuffle whenever a new dealer came up

I played on a cruise ship about 2 years ago. I wouldnt even put money in
and just wait til the count got to around 7. I was not keeping true count

Anyway I said to some young players at the table and said 10s are coming.
Next deal 4 out of five of us got 10s

So it used to work. As long as the software has not changed. It is worth a try but be aware that new software may be in a machine that you are counting on.

Since it goes to 2/3 of the shoe it should be easy to verify that the dealer changes by just counting 208 cards (2/3 of a 6 deck shoe)

I ended up winning about $100

There is no way to tell when the game shuffles. The changing dealers does not indicate a shuffle.

 

[bigplayer]

I was talking to a tech the other night, and he said it shuffles when it changes dealers.... He is going to look into it and get back to me.... The part that seems weird is the separate shoes, that would mean you only count your own hands. Out of habit we'll prolly f*ck that up, lol...

The tech would be incorrect. There is no way to tell when a shuffle occurs on that game. It is intentionally hidden by design. The dealer change does NOT indicate a shuffle.

 

[shadroch]

The tech would be incorrect. There is no way to tell when a shuffle occurs on that game. It is intentionally hidden by design. The dealer change does NOT indicate a shuffle.

I'm wondering if there is a switch to hide this or not. The Trop in Laughlin switched dealers right around ther 208 card mark for months, but no longer does. The machine at Binions never did.